My research focuses on public governance puzzles in general and more specifically the contingent relationship between trust and control. As more and more public governance challenges are characterized by simultaneous high factual complexity and high normative ambiguity, also called wicked problems, extant governance theories fall short. The underlying assumptions of these theories either assume no trust or that trust and control are substitutes: the more you  trust, the less you may control and the more you control the more you signal that you don’t trust. In my research I build (and test) theory about the contingencies for control and trust to support each other and the role of trust in collaborative relationships.

Research interests are: 

• The contingent relationship between control- and trust-oriented policies and practices
• Trust and control in regulatory enforcement/regulation
• governance of street-level bureaucrats, public professionals and other frontline workers
• Trust in, within and between (public) organisations
• Role of teams in public governance and the relationship between trust and control
• Trust and public sector innovations

Recent and current research projects:

• Trust and respect (with Ros Searle, Denise Skinner, Antoinette Weibel, Nicole Gillespie and Deanne den Hartog)
• Trust in public professionals and their professions (in Routledge compendium on trust, 2017)
• The contingent relationship between trust and control in public administration
• Street-level bureaucracy and teams (with Duco Bannink and Katinka Lünnemann)
• Rethinking the relationship between trust and control in Dutch public service innovations
• Trust in regulatory regimes (book with Koen Verhoest, 2017)
• The dynamics of multiple motivations (of regulated entrepreneurs) (with Eelco van Wijk)
• Regulating emerging governance (in Emerging governance, 2017)
• Trust and resilience in emergencies (with Silvan Hijlkema and Ineke Nagel)

Relevant links:

Google citations

personal website in Dutch for practitioners: www.frederiquesix.nl  

professional website in English for academics: www.frederiquesix.eu  

MSc courses on public management and good governance; master theses (public administration, business and management; organization science)

BSc courses on decision making theory, change management and public management;practicing academic writing and research techniques; tutor; internships.

Postgraduate education: trust-based governance; internal and external supervision; public controllers programme (het Zijlstra Center), leergang Bestuurders en toezichthouders (het Zijlstra Center).

Many master classes and workshops to groups of practitioners (for permanent education), e.g. Dutch Tax Office, Inspectorate of Human Environment and Transport, Health Inspectorate, non-executive directors Rabobank, CCV, City of Amsterdam, Dutch association of school governors (VTOI), public sector division of NBA-VRC (controllers and accountants)

Bildung Academy Amsterdam: trust and regulation.

Member of the strategic advisory board of NVWA (The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority) (2015 – )

• Stichting Beurzenfonds UWC | Onbekend | Voorzitter van bestuur | 2013-12-02 - present
• Stichting Beurzenfonds UWC | Onbekend | Voorzitter van bestuur | 2017-12-01 - present
• Universiteit Antwerpen | Antwerpen | Visting professor | 2019-10-01 - present

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